David CO

Our unit always supplied our CO with a calendar. It wasn't really for approval, since the unit rarely heard anything back from the CO about it. It was mostly done so the secretaries could add it to the master schedule of parish/school activities. It was very common for people to call the school or parish offices to ask about upcoming scouting events, so it was convenient to have them listed in the master schedule. It also made it easy for the unit leaders to spot any scheduling conflicts, where other parish/school activities might conflict with scouting. That said, it was always understood that the CO could, if it ever chose to do so, exercise its right to make changes to the calendar. The Chartered Organization owns the unit.

The final word belongs to the Chartered Organization.

BSA is not an all volunteer organization.

Thanks for the condescension.

I think there is a very simple solution. Call home. If the parent says to take away the cell phone, take it away. No theft involved. Similarly, if a boy wants to leave camp, call home. Tell the parent and let the parent make the decision. If the parent wants to talk to the boy, let them talk. I think it would be unforgivable for a camp leader to not inform a parent that the child is asking to call home.

So you're telling me that a boy has to be worked up into a hysteria before you will let him leave?

It seems to me that this approach is just teaching children to misbehave. The badly behaved kid gets what he wants. The well mannered kid gets ignored.

I don't know why a boy should need to "freak out" or "melt down" in order to get adults to do something that should be routinely done whenever the boy makes a calm, polite request in a respectful tone of voice.

What really matters is not where you stay, but what you eat. You must try the donuts on Pikes Peak. They are the best.

If a parent is going to smoke or vape, I would rather that they not be in uniform. I would also want them to distance themselves from the scouts while they do it. I think the problem is that BSA is asking units to register every parent volunteer as a leader. Some parents can be very helpful as volunteers... just so long as you don't register them as leaders and have them seen as representing the unit.

Summer camp isn't supposed to be prison camp. I would never keep a scout at camp against his will. Even if he didn't bring a cell phone to camp, I would let him borrow a leader's phone to call home and ask to be picked up.

You have already taken the first step. Come on this forum and talk with people you can't stand. Once you've mastered that skill, dealing with similar people in the real world won't seem quite so hard.

I would argue that the main con is the pros.

I would guess that the hospital that stocks the antivenom ends up discarding a lot of unused and expired drugs. The consumer (snake bite victim) pays for it. It would be unfair to ask a hospital or pharmacy to keep the drugs in stock if they couldn't pass on the cost of unused medications to the patients.

I wouldn't advise it. First of all, you shouldn't introduce yourself. The Scoutmaster should introduce you. Your first goal should be to earn their trust. So don't say anything you can't follow through on. Don't tell them they can ask you anything if you can't answer everything. You can't answer everything.

Life is hard. We don't need to make it any harder.

"While wearing the uniform is not mandatory, it is highly encouraged." I would totally agree with that statement. The scout leaders in my unit were allowed to encourage scouts to purchase and wear the uniform. They were not allowed to make it mandatory. They were not allowed to hassle scouts into purchasing a uniform. If they did that, it ended up on my desk. I'm OK with scouts wearing the complete uniform. I'm OK with scouts wearing T-shirts and jeans. I'm not OK with mixing and matching uniform and non-uniform parts. If they cannot afford the complete uniform, they should wear the T-shirts and jeans.

Compared to other people in my position (IH), I was considered to be very involved and supportive of the scouting program. Probably not so much if you compared me to the unit leaders. Certainly not if you compared me to many of the die-hard scouters on this forum. I think the viewpoint of the IH and the Chartered Organization is often missing from the forum. My CO couldn't care less if the scouts wear a uniform.

I should think that a scouter would be familiar with that concept.

I would prefer St. Crispin's Day.

Welcome to the forum. I don't think there is a legal problem here because the CO still owns all of the assets of the unit. If the CO gives the unit $1000 to buy tents, the tents are still owned by the CO. No money has changed hands.

BSA does have a program with rules and policies. And no, we do not all wear a uniform.

There is nothing requiring or forcing scouts to wear a uniform either. It is not a choice between wearing a uniform or not joining. It is simply a choice between wearing a uniform or not wearing a uniform. They can join either way. That's the rule.

No, it doesn't. That may have been true in 1920, when the traditional uniform of the time was universally accepted, but that isn't even close to being true today. Every country has its own distinct uniform. There is nothing universal about the scout uniform today.

Yes, that is the philosophical question, but there are also some practical concerns. Our public schools were recently offered the opportunity to have a Spring Swim Night for each of our schools as a special after-school activity. The school board declined the generous offer, citing the anticipated difficulties they might face with inappropriate swimwear, and with students/parents taking on the role of social activists by loudly protesting the perceived body-shaming of girls. They did a roller skating party instead. I suspect that the only result we will get from such social activism is fewer fun activities for the kids.